The submarine depict on this stamp, to honour Roque B.Ablan (1906-1943) Birth Centenary, must be the USS STINGRAY, she was send on orders of General Douglas MacArthur with supplies and arms for his resistance movement in Augustus 1944 to the Philippines.
Built as a submarine by the Portsmouth Navy yard for the USS Navy.
01 October 1936 keel laid down.
06 October 1937 launched under the name USS STINGRAY (SS-186), sponsored by Mrs. Ridley McLean, widow of Rear Admiral McLean, who had had a distinguished career in the submarine service. She was one of the Salmon Class submarines.
Displacement 1.449 tons surfaced, 2.198 tons submerged. Dim. 93.9 x 7.9 x 4.31m.
Powered, diesel electric by 4 Hoover, Ownes Rentschler Co. (H.O.R.) diesel engines, each 1.650 hp. connected to two Elliot Motor Co. electric motors each 1.650 hp., speed 21 knots surfaced, 9 knots submerged. Twin screws.
Bunker capacity 96.025 gallons.
Range, 11.800 miles at 10 knots on the surface.
Armament 1 – 76mm gun, 4 M.G. and 8 -533mm torpedo tubes.
Crew 55.
15 March 1938 commissioned under command of Lt. L. N. Blair.
Following shakedown off New England and Caribbean waters, STINGRAY entered Portsmouth Nay Yard for alternations and upon completion on 14 January 1939 departed for a cruise in Caribbean waters. After brief call at New London, Conn., on 20 April the STINGRAY transited the Panama Canal and arrived at San Diego, Calif., on 11 May for a rigorous schedule of training and maneuvers as a unit of Submarine Squadron 6.
She put to sea on 01 April 1940 for fleet exercises in the Hawaiian area, followed by overhaul at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, Calif.
Upon completion STINGRAY returned to the Hawaiian area, where she remained until joining the Asiatic Fleet at Cavite, Philippine Islands on 23 October 1941.
07 December 1941, at that time she was under command of Lieutenant Commander R.S.Lamb, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor the STINGRAY was at Mariveles Bay, Manila, and she put immediately to sea on her first war patrol. Patrolling in Lingayen Gulf, the submarine witnessed the Japanese invasion of Lingayen Gulf, on the west coast of Luzon on 21 December 1941, but due to material deficiencies in the submarine, she was unable to attack. She terminated her first war patrol at Manila on 24 December 1941.
Following repairs, STINGRAY got underway on her second war patrol on 30 December 1941.
While in Sama Bay on 10 January 1942, she torpedoed and sank her initial victim of the war, the transport HARBIN MARU east of Hue, Indo-China. The submarine then patrolled in Davao Gulf through 08 February without any contacts and put in Surabaya, Java, on 12 February.
As the Japanese closed upon that Dutch base, she left from there bound for Fremantle where she arrived on 03 March 1942.
STINGRAY departed Fremantle on 16 March 1942 for her third war patrol, conducted in the Celebes and Java seas. The only worthwhile target encountered during this patrol was a Japanese destroyer cruising just of Makassar City, Celebes. Although the submarine fired three torpedoes at the enemy, all were misses. STINGRAY returned to Fremantle on 2 May 1942.
For her fourth war patrol, STINGRAY got underway on 27 May 1942 and headed for Davao Gulf and then on to Guam.
On the afternoon of 28 June, the submarine sighted two ships with escort, and quickly began to close the range. She fired four torpedoes at the first ship, and the resultant explosion quickly sank the converted gunboat SAIKYO MARU. The submarine continued patrol in the vicinity of Guam until 15 July, when she returned to Pearl Harbor for overhaul.
Although STINGRAY’s fifth war patrol, in the vicinity of the Solomon Islands, and sixth war patrol, conducted in the Marshall Islands, were unproductive, during the seventh, the submarine torpedoed and sank the cargo ship TAMON MARU in a position 27 18N 121 38E.
For her eight war patrol, STINGRAY got underway from Pearl Harbor on 12 June 1943, and set course for the Caroline Islands. Her only contact during this patrol was a high-speed northbound convoy that she was unable to close on.
She returned to Brisbane, Australia, from a disappointing patrol on 31 July 1943.
On 23 August 1943, STINGRAY departed Brisbane for her ninth war patrol, conducted en route to Pearl Harbor. After being slightly damaged by four bombs mistakenly dropped by a friendly plane, the submarine was forced to surface and repair the damage. She then patrolled in the Admiralty Islands without making a single contact and terminated her ninth patrol at Pearl Harbor on 10 October 1943, continuing on to Mare Island Navy Yard for shipyard overhaul.
Most probably in this overhaul were her diesel engines replaced by four General Motors 248A diesels, each 1.600 hp. (two of this diesels are now acquired by USS COD a submarine Memorial at Cleveland, Ohio. http://www.usscod.org/ )
Following return to Pearl Harbor, STINGRAY got underway on 10 March 1944 for her tenth war patrol conducted in the Mariana Islands. On 30 March she slipped past three escorts to gain attack position on two cargo ships, and fired four torpedoes at the lead ship. One torpedo hit amidships and stopped the enemy dead in the water. STINGRAY then fired four more torpedoes at the damaged cargo ship that quickly sent IKUSHIMA MARU to the bottom on 30 March 1944 in a position 235 miles east of the Volcano Islands.
On the afternoon of 08 April, while patrolling north of the Marianas, STINGRAY bounced off a large submerged object at a depth of 25 feet, lifting the submarine three to four feet.
Inasmuch as the submarine was in the middle of the ocean, with her charts showing over 2.000 fathoms of water, the first thoughts of the commanding officer concerned what new type of antisubmarine measure the enemy was using. STINGRAY then took precautionary soundings and found no bottom at 2.000 fathoms. Unable to determine what she had collided with, the submarine continued patrol.
During the early morning darkness of 13 April, STINGRAY’s lookouts sighted the approach of a broaching torpedo. She made a sharp turn to port as the torpedo passed 100 feet ahead. Two seconds later a second torpedo just missed as it ran down her starboard side. She searched the area for her attacker without success and returned to Pearl Harbor on 22 April 1944.
STINGRAY spent her 11th war patrol on lifeguard station for air strikes on Guam. On 11 June 1944 the submarine rescued a downed Navy aviator and the following day pulled two more airmen from the water.
On 13 June Stingray received word that a Navy airman was down approximately 500 yards offshore. With shells exploding on either side of the submarine, she made four submerged approaches until the pilot finally grabbed one of the submarine’s periscopes and was towed safely clear of the island and taken on board.
On 18 June, STINGRAY experienced a fire in her superstructure near the conning tower hatch. After extinguishing the fire several times only to have it flared up again, the trouble was finally located, and the submarine continued patrol. She returned to Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands on 10 July.
For her 12th war patrol, STINGRAY was occupied in a special mission, landing fifteen Filipino officers and men and six ton of supplies on the north-eastern coast of Luzon. On the way back to Port Darwin, Australia on 18 August she picked up four Japanese sailors from a cruiser sunk earlier in the day by submarine HARDHEAD (SS-365).
STINGRAY reached Port Darwin on 07 September 1944.
STINGRAY was underway again three days later for her 13th war patrol, spent on a special mission to look over possible landing beaches at Marjoe Island. She returned to Port Darwin on 19 September1944.
STINGRAY carried out two special missions in the Philippine Islands during her 14th and 15th war patrols, and on 11 January 1945, she put to sea on her 16th and final war patrol.
Four special missions in the Celebes area were carried out during this patrol. Landing parties were put ashore on Nipanipa Peninsula, Celebes; Kagean Island; Pare Pare Bay, Celebes; and another at Nipanipa Peninsula. She returned to Fremantle, Western Australia on 23 February and the headed back to the United States arriving at New London, Conn. On 29 April 1945. She operated there until decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 17 October 1945.
03 July 1946 stricken from the Navy list and sold for scrap on 06 January 1947 to Ship-Shape, Philadelphia.
Source: mostly copied from Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. http://www..nhi.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=2